The Apostle Paul wrote thirteen books of the Bible and possibly a few others not attributed to him. He wrote four while incarcerated in prison. Throughout the many years recorded in the Bible, many biblical heroes were incarcerated and it is believed by some scholars that other books were written in prison as well, such as first and second Peter and James.
I woke up this morning wondering why? Why did God choose to have entire books of the Bible written from prison? I was incarcerated in two prisons and found them to largely consist of an unholy cesspool of evil sociopathic misfits including inmates and guards. It is difficult indeed to concentrate on much of anything aside from trying to stay alive and out of harm’s way in general population or solitary. It is very noisy, and inmates are constantly yelling, and even howling. Suffice it to say prison does not seem conducive to writing the Holy Bible or anything.
As I mulled it over, I wondered if the suffering associated with being incarcerated in squalid conditions might have something to do with the way these epistles or letters were written. When thinking of the Bible being written I have visualized old men with white hair and long white beards sitting at an ancient desk lit up with candles with parchment scrolls and pens carefully penning God’s word. I can picture a bowl of fresh fruit sitting on the table along with a pitcher of cool clean water and guys in white tunics assisting them.
When I think of those Holy books being written in the darkness of a filthy, dank prison, it brings a new meaning altogether as to what was written.
I was incarcerated in Parrish prison in New Orleans for a short period of time and it was the equivalent of hell on earth and even today it is renowned as being one of the most dangerous and worst prisons in the United States. I was thinking about it and remember my very first day there. I got into a vicious fight and ended up in solitary confinement or the “hole” as inmates referred to it.
In solitary, mine was a small cell just big enough to contain an iron bunk with no mattress or pillow and a metal toilet with no lid. It had one tiny window that I could see (if I jumped high enough). I would jump up and could grab the tiny windowsill and pull myself up enough to look up about ten feet and see a small patch of blue sky through a little 4X12-inch window located a floor above mine. I would hold myself up there until my arms started trembling and just gave out. I did this several times a day trying my utmost to catch a glimpse of that little patch of blue which was my only reminder of the outside world.
There were rats in that place the size of a small housecat and the food was a dry bologna sandwich and a cup of Kool-aide shoved through a little door on the cell. I cannot imagine writing anything in that place whether in general population or solitary.
As bad as it was, I’m sure the prisons of Rome were far worse than the prisons of today, at least the prisons in the United States. God in His infinite wisdom allowed Paul to be chained up in one of those prisons and write the books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. While the prison epistles reflect Paul’s earthly position as a prisoner of Rome, he makes it clear that his captivity was first and foremost to Christ and Paul’s time in prison was for the purpose of spreading the gospel to the people, (Gentiles) in Rome. The Lord Himself told Paul to “take courage”! He did just that as he wrote to encourage churches and Christians at large to continue to walk in accordance with their calling as followers of Christ. As a prisoner himself, Paul reiterated the power of the Gospel in overcoming barriers, (social and otherwise). Paul instead spoke to the power of forgiveness, hope, and the impact of grace, all of which have had life-changing effects on billions of people since they were written.
I was not a Christian at the time of my incarceration and encouragement and certainly, hope were unfamiliar territory to me. It was in early 1970, over fifty years ago, that I accepted Christ as my Savior. Today I have come to understand what Paul was talking about in his book of Philippians. In fact, my life verse is Phil. 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It has a profound meaning for me, especially as I ponder it being written in prison. Paul is my favorite Bible hero aside from Christ of course.
If you know someone incarcerated, please visit them, and encourage them that there is hope through Jesus. Even if you do not know anyone incarcerated, there are prison ministries all over the country whereby you can go inside and meet with inmates who are hungry to hear God’s word. Be sure and tell them that much of the Bible was written by those who were incarcerated while you are at it.
You know, this did not come from me; Jesus desires this.
Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.‘